The Third Egg
by xXrock4lifeXx
Summary: The third and final egg lies in the hands of Galbatorix. It is up to Eragon to retrieve it, but when things do not go as planned Eragon must find a way to keep the egg safe and keep everyone else alive. Meet Ayasha a girl whose life is about to change.
1. Chapter 1: Beginnings

Chapter 1

Beginnings

Eragon watched Saphira as she looked at the great fortress of the evil, tyrant king of Alagaësia, Galbatorix. It was there she had been captive to Galbatorix in her egg for at least a century after the fall of the Riders, until a mystery savior rescued her. She had also been imprisoned with two other eggs which her rescuer had been unable to retrieve. Since Sapirah's rescue, one of the other eggs hatched to Eragon's half brother, Murtagh. Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn, had been forced to swear oaths in the ancient language to Galbatorix. But as Eragon and Murtagh had battled on the Burning Plains, Murtagh had provided Eragon with the fact that the last egg, which was still in Galbatorix's castle, was male. Now Nasuada, the leader of a rebel army called the Varden who opposed Galbatorix, had given Eragon, Saphira, Arya, and Blödhgarm the important mission of retrieving the last egg from Galbatorix.

It was a very dangerous task. Galbatorix was a powerful sorcerer; the source of this immeasurable power is thought to be hundreds of thousands of Eldunari. Eldunari are dragon's "heart of hearts" where they may store their soul and regurgitate it in a physical form that resembles a teardrop in shape, but it is considerably larger than one and is the color of the dragon's scales. Eragon himself had an Eldunari of one of his now dead teachers, Glaedr, an immense golden dragon whose Rider, Oromis, had taught Eragon the rules and guidelines of magic and also helped give him the physical skills he thought necessary for Eragon to defeat Galbatorix one day. But Galbatorix's magical prowess was not the only thing to be cautious of, a large portion of Galbatorix's army was stationed at his castle and even with Saphira would have been a death wish if Eragon had attempted this mission alone. And there was always the chance of a face- to- face encounter with the king himself and his coal-black dragon Shruikan, which would be disastrous to this mission.

It was because of Galbatorix that Eragon and Saphira's life had become like this; the constant fighting and strategizing, not a moment of peace in times such as this. It was also because of Galbatorix that Saphira was the last female dragon in Alagaësia; Galbatorix had wiped out all Riders and dragons who had opposed him in his rise to power, leaving him with his thirteen followers known as the Forsworn. Murtagh's father, Morzan, had been one of the Forsworn and served as Galbatorix's right hand man, seeking out traitors within the Forsworn with the help of his wife, Selena, who was Eragon and Murtagh's mother. Morzan had produced a reign of terror in and out of the Forsworn until Brom, Eragon's father and former Dragon Rider whose dragon was killed in the fight agianst Galbatorix, killed him with Morzan's own sword Zar'roc. But in doing that Brom inadvertedly ended the Age of the Riders.

Now Eragon looked upon Saphira with concern on his face, he could tell through Saphira's emotions that she was not happy to be back at- as Saphira had called it earlier- _The hellhole._ Eragon could sense her anger and discontentment for being back, even though the last time she was here she was still in her egg. But he could also feel that she felt disturbed, unsettled, and sad.

_Saphira?_ Eragon thought, trying to communicate with her through the special link that Riders and their dragons shared. His comment got Saphira's attention as she turned her head to face him.

_Yes, little one?_

_ What is troubling you?_

_ It is what I sense within the hellhole Galbatorix calls home, _Saphira said spitefully,_ There is death and despair, and an evil of unmentionable proportions. There are also so many soldiers inside, greater than any force we have yet come agianst. I also sense magic, not so much bordering the castle but more towards the center of the castle, deep below the ground. That is where the egg is most likely to be..._ She trailed off at the end of her sentence and got a sad, faraway look in her big blue eyes.

_That is not what's troubling you. We have gone up agianst Galbatorix's warriors and magicians and I have not seen you like this, please tell me what's wrong._

_ It is not the magicians and soldiers that affect me._

_ Then what is it?_

_ It's the egg,_ she said. Eragon was not prepared for this answer and blanched for a second before regaining his composure and saying, W_hy? What's wrong with the egg?_

_ Nothing is wrong with the egg, per say, it is the hatchling. It recognizes my mind and is trying to communicate with me... it cannot talk yet but it sends me emotions. It is scared, Eragon, Galbatorix is losing patience and it fears that Galbatorix will force it to hatch for one of his loyal followers. Much like he did for Shruikan._

_ How come I can't sense its emotions?_

_ You can't hear them because you're not a dragon, little one. It is one of our instincts; the hatchling can send his feelings out to another dragon, normally its parents, to know if anything has changed that could make the egg unsafe._

_ I thought dragon eggs were indestructible._

_ Normal dragon eggs are, but every once in a while an egg will be unusually thin or something very strong has damaged it. In cases such as those the hatchlings must be able to communicate in some way so the parents can get them out safely or repair the egg if necessary__._

Eragon looked back to the castle. It was nearly sundown; they would have to begin their mission soon. Eragon walked back to the campfire where Arya and Blödhgarm were going over the plans for the mission. The light danced off of Blödhgarm, an elf who had shaped his body to resemble a wolf, turning his black fur into an yellowish-orange color and making his yellow eyes as bright as the sun, creating a very intimidating effect. When the light reflected off of Arya's dark hair, however, making it look like a river of dancing black flames, it was a very beautiful sight. Even though most of her back was to him, Eragon could still see the soft curves of her cheek and lips and his heart stuttered for half a beat before resuming its normal pace. Arya had always affected him this way and had embarrassed himself quite a number of times when he had tried to convey his emotions to her, which had resulted in a few awkward weeks in their relationship. Eragon mentally shook off the memories before proceeding forward.

A twig snapped as Eragon stepped forward; Arya snapped her head around and looked straight at Eragon with her startling green eyes.

"It is only I, Arya", said Eragon. Arya sat down and turned again to Blödhgarm. Upon seeing Eragon Blödhgarm rose and bowed toward Eragon with a brief muttering of "Shadeslayer…"

There was a sudden quiet as if time stood still in preparation for what was to come. The roar of the nearby Ramr River, droned to a quiet rumble, the wind ceased to blow, even crackling of the fire vanished. Arya and Blödhgarm looked at Eragon expectantly, and then Eragon said, "It is time."

Arya and Blödhgarm nodded in understanding and quickly put out the fire. They all went to the wall of large rocks where Eragon had been talking to Saphira only a few moments ago. Saphira was waiting for them, her tail twitching with anticipation. Saphira brushed Eragon's mind and he could feel her anxiety. Eragon pulled Arya aside and said, "If anything goes wrong, and I am captured. Take Saphira and Blödhgarm and get as far away as you can."

Arya looked at him as if she wanted to say something to him, but all she did was nod. Eragon, Arya, Saphira, and Blödhgarm looked toward the setting sun.

The mission had begun.

*******Sorry that this chapter does not have much dialogue in it, I promise that there will be more in later chapters. Please review!***


	2. Chapter 2: Ashes

Hello peoples! I am so sorry this took so long to write, my teachers gave me soooooo much homework over break. They say they won't give you any, then they go right ahead and give you so much you have done permanent damage to your back by carrying your backpack! (frowny face in place. Haha that rhymes ). Anyways, here is the next chapter! Hope you all like it! R&R please, corrections welcome.

Chapter 2

Ashes

**Five years ago:**

A young boy runs up a hill, his dark hair whipping about his face. A girl about the same age with dark curls follows behind, trying to catch up with her faster brother._**(AN: these two are twins)**_

"Ayasha! Wait!", the boy cries. The girl pays no attention and laughs, thinking they are still racing to the farming village where they live. She runs faster. The boy calls her name again, fear in his voice. This time the girl stops at the top of the hill just a little in front of her brother, she looks up.

The scene in front of her is imprinted on her mind. The fields surrounding the village of Delois _**(AN: yeah… I don't know how to pronounce this. So don't ask)**_ are burning; all of the able villagers are fighting soldiers and men in long black cloaks. Men are falling before the cloaked men's merciless blades. Some women are trying to help their husbands and shown as little mercy by the cloaked men. Other women have been captured and are in chains, the children of the village are also in chains. The older people in chains are trying to shield the children from seeing their families slaughtered before their very eyes. Ayasha recognizes one of the girls in chains as her friend, Hazel She also recognized a boy named, Duncan, in chains as her brother's friend, who was also her friend. Both of them were pulling at their chains as hard as they could, with tear tracks streaking their faces through the thin layer of dirt on their faces. Duncan sees his father stabbed by a soldier and kicks the soldier closest to him hard in the shins and is immediately slapped across the face. Hazel is still tugging at her chains and crying loudly, a soldier kicks her to get her to be quiet.

Ayasha sees all of this and is filled with a fury that she has never experienced before. She starts to run full speed toward the village in a blind rage. She can hear her brother running behind her telling her to stop. But she just shouts, "Shut up, Delsin!" and keeps on running. She picks up a stick and a large stone before entering the village, she turns to see her brother do the same. Even though she is only eleven years old, she feels angry enough to kill all of the soldiers there even the cloaked men. She runs to the soldier who slapped Duncan and hits him in a particularly weak spot, the soldier falls to the ground, doubled over in pain; Duncan stares at her with a look of wonder on his face and proceeds to kick the soldier in the face. Delsin is doing likewise with the soldier that kicked Hazel. Ayasha looks desperately for the keys that would set her friends free. She feels a searing pain across her back, from her left shoulder to her right hip. She turns to face her attacker and is horrified by what she sees; it is one of the cloaked men, only it is not a man it is not like any creature she has ever seen before. Where its mouth should have been, there was a beak and it had small beady eyes that were looking at her with an excited gleam in its eyes. Then it spoke in a voice that sent tingles up her back.

"Sssssoooo, you dare to challenge ussss. It will bring me great joy to eat you, I rather enjoy the tasssste of young children.", the smell of rotting flesh enveloped her, causing her eyes to water and her throat to close. The thing raised its sword to deliver the death blow. She was suddenly pushed out of the way by her father and fell to the ground. She watched as her father blocked the thing's sword with his makeshift wood shield, he was fighting with a rapier that had belonged to his brother who had been a soldier. He swung his sword around to the things unprotected side, wounding it. The thing hissed in pain and stopped to examine it.

Her father turned to her and said, "Ayasha! Find Delsin and run! Get as far from here as you can! Do not stop for anything or anyone!" She started to argue, but her father just yelled, "GO!" She looked one last time at her father's face, with his brown, graying hair and the wrinkles around his eyes from squinting in the summer sun. She looked into his eyes trying to remember every little detail, for she did not know if this was the last time she would ever see him. Then she picked up the stick she had dropped and ran, her back sending jolts of pain whenever her feet hit the ground.

She searched for her brother amidst the chaotic fighting. She was calling his name over and over again. She finally found him holding his own against a soldier; his stick had just been knocked out of his hand and was staring at the other soldier with a look of panic on his face. Without thinking, Ayasha ran toward the soldier and swung her stick at his unprotected neck. The soldier let out a gasp of pain as the air left his body and he laid there gasping for breath. Delsin looked at his sister, picked up his stick, grabbed her hand and ran to the hills. Once they had reached the woods that marked the beginning of the Spine, they turned back to look, for the last time, at their home.

All they could see was ashes.

**Present:**

Ayasha and Delsin stumbled down the foothills of the Spine. For the past five years they had lived in the Spine, keeping their father's instructions in mind the whole time. They were no longer children, Ayasha had grown at least a half a foot and Delsin had grown about a whole foot. Their hair had grown long and unruly from lack of care. They had gotten thinner from some failed hunting expeditions.

They finally emerged from the trees into the bright sunlight. They had found an abandoned village. All of the fields had been torched and most of the houses had also been burned to the ground. It reminded Ayasha so much of that day five years ago, when her own home was burned to the ground by the cloaked creatures. She shook her head, trying not to think about it. Her brother saw her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders as they proceeded forward.

They searched the village for anything that the inhabitants may have left behind. They found few things of value which they could trade. Among those things was a couple of rather large books filled with pictures and stories of dragons (Their father had taught them how to read before the village was burned. He said it would be useful someday), some cooking pans, a necklace that was still intact, and an old journal.

"Do you really think that we could sell this thing, Ayasha? Someone has written in it. Nobody will want it." said Delsin.

"I know that, but the cover is pretty nice. Maybe we could take the pages that were written on out and sell it with the blank pages" said Ayasha.\

Delsin just looked at her skeptically and said, "Do what you wish", and handed her the journal.

Once the sun had started to set, they walked to the farthest end of the town and found a path. They followed this path to a small home that was mostly burned, but still had a bit of roof on it. _Well,_ thought Delsin, _at least it has part of a roof. Most of the houses in the town were burned to ground._ He grabbed his sister's hand and proceeded into the house. From what he could tell, it was a decent home at one point, with an upper level, but most of that was burned and he would probably fall through if he went up there. After he set his bag that he fashioned himself from a couple of rabbit skins down on the ground, he went to a separate shed where he saw a small stack of wood. It was still dry so they would make a good fire. After grabbing a large armful of wood, he returned to the house to find Ayasha reading the journal they had found earlier. She heard his footsteps and looked up from the journal and grabbed the wood from his arms and went to starting the fire. Delsin took out a small package of rabbit that he had shot and Ayasha had cooked a few days ago, he tore off a large chunk of it and handed it to Ayasha. She accepted it gratefully and handed the water skin to him in return, Delsin took several large gulps before handing it back and started to work on the rabbit.

"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like, if Delois hadn't been attacked by those things?"Ayasha unconsciously touched her left shoulder, where the scar that was left by the cloaked man's sword stretched from there to her right hip. It still pained her sometimes, but she wasn't going to let Delsin know that.

He looked thoughtful for a minute and then looked at her sea green eyes with his dark brown ones and said, "I suppose I have sometimes thought about it. But then I realize that thinking about what it would have been like is utterly useless. It won't bring Father back, or release Duncan from slavery, assuming that he is, in fact still alive; it also won't bring Hazel back to me…"Delsin blushed slightly at this and got a sad look in his eyes. Ayasha knew that he had loved Hazel since the day that she had tended to his arm after he had broken it fighting of some village boys who had been harassing her.

Ayasha knew how he felt and nodded in understanding, she had found herself becoming more self-conscious around Duncan when he had offered to help her and her father in the fields since Delsin could not do much with his broken arm. She had thought him so kind and thoughtful. She liked to imagine herself in a dream life where she was happily married to Duncan and living a simple life. Now it was her turn to blush. Then she said, "Yes…I suppose you are right." They just sat there in silence for a while, staring at the fire until Delsin lay down and fell asleep. Ayasha stayed up to keep the first watch, she and Delsin had come up with a watch system in which they would switch watches every three hours.

Ayasha kept herself alert throughout the whole three hours by playing a mind game that Delsin, Duncan, Hazel, and she had played as little children. The night was silent except for the crackling of their fire and the rustling of the leaves in the wind, but she kept her bow and quiver of arrows that she had made for her and Delsin for hunting right beside her the whole time. She woke Delsin when her three hours was up. He got up slowly and rubbed his eyes, and then he took her place as lookout. She lay down and closed her eyes, she was about to fall in to a blissful sleep-then an explosion shook the night.

Ayasha and Delsin sat bolt upright and looked at each other_. _Ayasha looked to Delsin and said, "What on earth was that?"

There you have it people! I don't know when I'll be able to get the next chapter up. So if you are reading this story, please be patient.

Oh, wait! I just realized I haven't done any disclaimers! So here it goes:

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Inheritance cycle. The ever so amazing Christopher Paolini does.

Though it would be great if I did, then maybe Arya would stop being such a stupid head about denying Eragon. The poor boy has suffered enough.


	3. Chapter 3: Plan of Attack

**OMG!!! I am SOOO sorry I haven't updated in forever! Everything has been so freaking crazy!! I have not been able to sit down and write…even if I did have the time, I don't know if I could come up with anything. I have been having the WORST case of writer's block.**

**I will be sure to get all of the other chapters out in a shorter amount of time, pinkie swear!**

**Oh! I think I might've forgotten to mention this, but this story takes place a year and a half after ****Brisingr****.**

**Thanks to Liraeyn and NationalWonder for reading! **

**Any who, this is the next chapter R&R please. **

**Chapter 3**

**Plan of Attack**

Three days ago:

_Barzûl!_ thought Eragon angrily as he held up his cut finger. He had been going over the great pile of books and ancient maps of Urû' baen for weeks looking for the possible entrance to a tunnel that could perhaps directly into Urû' baen with no success. Even with Glaedr's advice and knowledge, he was not having any luck. He had not had a proper night's sleep in three days and his current predicament was not helping with his mood. Even though Jeod had been initially assigned to the task of finding secret tunnels that could help the Varden in any way, there was so much information to go through that Eragon knew that Jeod would need all the help he could get. So Eragon volunteered to help sift through all the information that had amassed over the years as the Varden had slowly gathered information on the layout of Urû' baen, plus all of the rare books and scrolls that Jeod had brought from his library in Teirm.

Saphira could sense Eragon's frustration and said, _Little one, you must rest. You have been physically and mentally tasked. Nobody functions well without sleep, not even you._

_Saphira,_ thought Eragon,_ if we are to retrieve that final egg from Galbatorix before Galbatorix makes it hatch for one of his followers, we must find this tunnel. Everyone is looking to me for answers and I must give them some._

_Little one…_ Saphira began.

_They look to us Saphira. As their chance of freedom, as their chance for a new life not under the oppression of Galbatorix. You and I are the only free dragon and Rider._

_Yes we are Eragon. But you are still only sixteen years old. You are not a normal sixteen-year-old, I will give you that. But your body still needs rest, your mind needs rest._

_But-_

_Bed, Eragon! Or do I have to drag you out with my teeth and fly you across the whole camp into your tent and pin you to your bed until you are asleep? Maybe I should just tell Arya to come into that tent you are in now and put you to sleep with magic!_

Knowing that this was a very real threat, Eragon mentally scowled and thought, _Yes, Mother._

_Watch it, Eragon._

Eragon knew that Saphira was right, he just did not want to admit it. _Just one more hour_, he told himself as he sat back down again. But he could feel his eyelids closing, he tried to keep them open but he might as well been trying to lift Saphira by himself with all of the success he was making. He finally gave up on his endeavor and left the tent.

The brightness of the sun hurt his eyes as he stepped out into the light. Once his eyes had adjusted, he looked around the camp. The Varden's camp had grown considerably over the last year; it was both beneficial to the Varden and also detrimental. The Varden now had more soldiers and help, but this growth had also meant that they would have more people to feed and house. But they had made it work. And now the camp was full of activity and Eragon could see soldiers training and children playing and messengers bustling about. Among the soldiers was Eragon's cousin, Roran, he was currently working on his swordsmanship. He preferred to fight with a hammer, but Eragon, Arya, and Nasuada convinced him that he couldn't defend himself against any dark creatures using a hammer since he would have to get close to use his hammer. And by the time he got close enough he would practically be presenting himself on a silver platter to said creature.

"And besides, you could do more damage with a sword than a hammer, so you'll be able to protect your family better." That line had convinced him. Roran loved his family more than life itself, and would do anything to protect them.

Eragon continued to walk across the camp to get to his tent. He was a few yards away from his tent when he heard "Eragon! Would you mind giving me a hand?" It was Katrina, Roran's wife. She was trying to carry a load of supplies and keep her daughter, Ismira, who was named after Katrina's mother, from falling. The child was screaming, she obviously did not want to spend one more minute with her mother and was determined to get loose.

Eragon rushed over to help. He took little Ismira from her so that Katrina could more easily carry her supplies. Ismira was still crying and kicking, but as soon as Eragon said "Shhh, Izzy," using his nickname that he had made up for her, "what is the matter?" The child continued to squirm, but had quieted her cries. Eragon set her on the ground and held one of her little hands so that she could walk a little. He had to hunch over to do so, but she stopped her crying all together and started to take a couple of fumbling steps and looking at everything with big quizzical eyes.

"Ahh…that is so much better. Thank you, Eragon. I just can't figure out what she wants sometimes."

"Sometimes children just need to be free for a little bit." said Eragon. They soon arrived at the tent that Katrina and Roran shared; they found Roran coming toward the tent with a happy smile on his face as he saw them. Ismira tugged at Eragon's hand and made a sound that sounded like "Da!" and smiled. Roran saw her and picked her up and threw her into the air, Ismira laughed as she was in the air and was still laughing when Roran caught her again and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Roran!" said Katrina with a teasing smile, "stop that, you are going to get her all smelly!"

"Oh really?" Roran said as he pulled her in for a hug and a kiss. Katrina was laughing and trying to get away at the same time.

Eragon watched all of this as the painful bite of reality kicked in; he saw how happy Roran was with his family. Eragon knew that he would not be able to have a family like Roran could. When Eragon was changed during the Agaetí Blödhren, he became immortal. He could still die from being stabbed, or poisoned (but it was very unlikely that he would because Oromis taught him how to detect poisons using magic), or any number of things. Seeing Roran now reminded him of the life that could have been if he had never found Saphira's egg. _So much would be different…_ Eragon thought as he walked away.

He finally arrived at his tent; he took off the belt of Beloth the Wise and set it right next to his cot. He lay down on the cot and realized just how tired he was. He could feel consciousness slipping away and his anxiousness being replaced with a sense of bliss.

He was awakened by a very anxious Saphira shouting his name in his head. Eragon sat bolt upright in his cot and looked around with surprise. Then he heard Saphira again, _There you are Eragon, _she said,_ Arya and I have been looking for you!_

_What is it?_

_Now is not the time or the place,_ Eragon jumped with surprise and put his guard up for a moment before realizing that the "voice" came from Arya.

_Where should I meet you?_

_At the training grounds._

_I'll be there in a few minutes._

Eragon got up and put the belt back on. He ran through the crowd of tents that housed the occupants of the Varden, it was now twilight and people were now setting up fires, being careful not to set it up too close to the tent in front of them. They all passed in a blur to Eragon, who was concentrating more on what was so important that Arya and Saphira had to ask to meet them in the training grounds at night.

He finally entered the training grounds and saw Saphira and Arya and another person, Eragon could not tell who it was. But as he got closer he could see that it was Jeod. He was unkempt with his hair which was in need of a wash, and his tired face which told of the infinite number of sleepless nights, and his hunched back, an apparent sign of long periods spent stooped over books and maps and journals. They all looked up as he approached.

"What's going on?" Eragon asked.

"Jeod thinks he may have found something to help us," said Arya.

_I still think that we should go someplace more private_, said Saphira as she gave a huff of impatience, causing two pillars of smoke to come out of her nostrils. Eragon turned to Jeod with a serious expression.

"You found something?" asked Eragon.

"Yes…I think I may have…" Jeod spoke in a tired voice and rubbed his bloodshot eyes.

"What is it? Where did you find it? Can we rely on it?" Eragon inquired.

Jeod smiled and said, "You may have changed much since I first met you Eragon, but you are still partially that young man full of infinite questions that I first met in Teirm years ago. But to answer your questions, it is a poem and I found it hidden between the pages of an old book of mine about elfish cities. As for if we can rely on it that is a question better answered by somebody else."

They all looked at Jeod expectantly, as if waiting for him to say something more. But all he did was reach into one of the pouches he was carrying and took out a rolled up piece of parchment tied with a string and handed it to Eragon. Even though it was night, the moon was full and he was able to see the writing. So he opened up the parchment and started to read.

_Questions or answers_

_Which do you seek?_

_To the son of Ingvard_

_Your questions bespeak._

_For spies and smugglers, great benefits are reaped… from the black king and his cruel beast._

_A question whose answer is a secret to keep, whose answers lie beneath the naive king's feet; the way to Ilieria for those who must sneak._

_Is the question to which the question is leaked._

_In the lines of this poem for the clever to seek._

_The answer is found in the lines below, so read carefully whether friend or foe._

_If misunderstood it shall bring woe upon all those who wish to slow._

_The mighty strikes from the tyrant king's blows, so dear reader be quick and know in a wall of rock the entrance is stowed._

_Ah, but listen the place is at hand to search for the rocks on such a large piece of land._

_Look to the mouth that eats nothing but sand, that leads to the country divided by a band._

_This band is fed by the rocks at the mouth, if you must find it, look to the south of the mighty river far north of Dauth._

_This is the answer you must find without a doubt-_

_Ramr_

Eragon waited until everyone else had finished reading and handed the paper back to Jeod. Eragon could now see what Jeod had meant by saying that the validity of the poem was better answered by someone else- he hadn't seen anything like this before.

"Do we have any idea who the 'son of Ingvard' is?" Arya finally asked.

There was a long silence while everyone thought. Eragon wracked his memory, the name sounded familiar…_But from where?_ He looked back on his travels; the places he went, the people he met there…but came up blank. He closed his eyes tight in concentration. _Think, Eragon… think, _he thought. Then, like pieces of a puzzle coming together, he remembered.

"His name is Tenga," said Eragon, breaking the silence. Everyone turned to look at him.Nobody said anything at first, but then Saphira said, _How do you know that?_

_I met him on my way back from Helgrind, he was… odd, to say the least. He kept on talking about looking for an answer to a question that nobody knows._

_Well, _said Arya,_ that settles it. We leave for Tenga's house tomorrow._

_No, we don't have to, _said Eragon.

_Of course we have to, _said Arya,_ if Tenga is near Helgrind, then we will have to leave tomorrow morning at the latest._

_We do not have to go because Angela knew Tenga. If anyone can tell us if we can depend on this poem, it would be her._

_Well? What are we waiting for? _asked Saphira, _Let's go find Angela._

They all started for the outskirts of the camp, where Angela's tent was. She preferred to be outside of the camp so that she could gather her herbs and bring them back to her tent without having to deal with mischievous children who would like to steal them.

"If the king had a squadron of those little buggers, we would be out of supplies within a week," she had said.

Eragon threw open the tent flap and walked in, followed by Arya and Jeod. Saphira had to content herself with sticking her head through the tent flap. Angela was brewing something that had a strong smell of rotten fruit. The werecat, Solembum was cleaning himself on Angela's cot, he looked up as Eragon and the others entered and then looked away and resumed cleaning himself. Without turning around Angela said, "I was expecting you to stop by."

"How did you know we were coming tonight?" asked Eragon.

"Oh-I didn't," replied Angela.

"But you just said-"

"I said I was expecting you to drop by- I didn't say when exactly I was expecting you."

"We came here to talk to you," said Arya

"Well, I figured that much since I very much doubt that you are here for my cooking, or one of my potions. But about what do you want to talk about though?"

"It's about Tenga," said Eragon. Immediately Angela turned around, looked him right in the eyes, and crossed her arms.

"What about him?"

"He wrote a poem, which Jeod found. It talks about a possible entrance to Urû' baen, but we do not know if we can rely on it," said Arya.

"Let me see it," said Angela. Jeod handed the slightly crumpled paper over to Angela. She quickly read it and handed it back to them and said, "I believe that you can trust it. Tenga may be a bit eccentric, but he is not a liar."

"Are you absolutely certain?" asked Eragon.

"I am certain because I have been there myself. He took me there once a long time ago."

Eragon just stood there for a minute, digesting everything that had happened. When he had gotten up that morning he did not expect to find anything, and he and Jeod were not getting any closer to finding a way into Urû' baen. Now they had found a way in and would finally have a chance of getting the final egg back.

He turned to Arya and Saphira and said, "Be ready to leave tomorrow."

**Well, there it is- finally done.**

**I hope you all like the poem; it took me forever to figure out what to say. I had to have someone help me (…write it) in order to get it done. So, in the future….NO MORE POEMS!!! If I can help it, that is.**

**I will try to get Chapter 4 up sooner than I got this one up. God, I never spent so much time on one stupid chapter before.**

**Again, please read and review. Post a comment, concern, even just a random question if you feel like it…just as long as it is not a really personal question.**

**Ta-ta for now! ~xXrock4lifeXx~**


	4. Chapter 4: Escape Part 1

**AAAHHH! I am getting really impatient here…I want to get back to Delsin and Ayasha but my stupid brain won't let me!**

**Just a quick little note, I made a typo in the last chapter. Eragon is supposed to be 17 almost 18. Not 16.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from the Inheritance Cycle…but I do own everyone else. The Inheritance Cycle characters belong to the ever- amazing Christopher Paolini.**

**And, Christopher, if you are, by some strange chance reading this, me and a couple million others have just one question for you…. you almost done with the book yet? **

**Chapter 4**

**Escape: Part One**

Present

Eragon, Arya, Blödhgarm, and Saphira waited by the boulder for the sun to set. Two days ago, Arya, Saphira, and Eragon had found the "wall of rock" mentioned in Tenga's poem. Afterwards, they went to Nasuada and told her of their findings. When they had first told Nasuada of their findings, she had looked at Eragon and Arya with her steely, dispassionate gaze and said, "You should have come to me before leaving. What if we had needed you, Eragon? Or you, Arya? We would have been unable to contact you."

To this Arya responded, "What is done, is done. There is nothing gained by reprimanding us like children. If we had gone to you, we would have spent our time here debating whether or not we should go now or later. Or who would accompany us. We needed to find out as soon as possible, and we did, so let's stop dwelling on the past and figure out a strategy." Eragon mentally winced at the tone of her voice, but kept his face impassive. He saw Nasuada's eyes flare briefly with anger, and then she regained control of her emotions and just nodded.

"Very well, I see your point," Nasuada said, "What do you propose we do?"

For the next few hours Nasuada, Arya, Eragon, and Saphira drew out their plans for the mission that lay ahead.

Eragon's attention drew back to the present, where the last rays of light were quickly disappearing. The color of Saphira's scales seemed to deepen, making her scales so dark they were almost the color of the night sky. The fading light accentuated the curve of Arya's cheeks and made her dark hair shine. But the light also made Blödhgarm look like a terrible, mythical beast. They waited a few more minutes for the first few stars to come out, and then they would have to wait for the sound of horns announcing the gate closing before they moved the rock.

In the few minutes they were waiting for the horns, Eragon's heart rate increased and he could feel it thudding in his chest. He could feel Saphira touching his mind, trying to soothe him. Everything was so much richer; he tried to drink it all in, attempting to remember these few minutes of peace. Then a horn sounded in the distance, breaking the evening silence. Saphira moved toward the boulder and used her shoulders and neck to roll the stone out of the way, below they saw a small hole just large enough for a human to fit through. Eragon looked at all of them and nodded. Arya slid herself in feet first, Blödhgarm followed as soon as he heard Arya's feet hit the bottom. After he was through, Eragon moved toward the hole and turned back to Saphira. They looked at each other for a moment before Saphira said, _Good luck, little one. Hurry back._

Eragon could feel his throat tightening and said, _I will. _He turned away from Saphira and slipped through the hole. He only fell a few feet before he hit the floor with a soft _thud!_ He took in his surroundings, there was still enough light coming through the hole to see a few feet ahead, but he could see Arya and Blödhgarm waiting for him at the edge of the light. Arya was adjusting the pack she was wearing that would be used to carry the egg during their return to the Varden, and Blödhgarm was looking at the walls of the tunnel with mild interest.

He walked forward to where they were standing and said, "Garjzla", a small blue light appeared just over his gedwëy ignasia. They started to walk down the long winding tunnel, looking out for any sign that they were almost there. They walked for what seemed like hours but was probably only a few minutes, before they hit a dead end. Eragon shone his light on the walls and the ceiling, when the light hit the ceiling he saw a small handle sticking out of one of the rocks. He slowly reached up and grabbed the cold, rusty handle.

He pulled. Nothing happened. Then he tried to push the door open, but again nothing happened. He pulled again with all the strength he had, but to no avail. Now he was starting to get worried, what if they could not even get inside, after all the years of searching?

"Maybe you need a key?" said Arya.

Eragon shook his head, "No. Tenga never said anything about a key in his poem. Besides, I do not see a keyhole." Eragon looked closer at the little door. He did not see any keyholes but around the handle he saw scuff marks, like when you dragged a chair back and forth across a floor often. _Could it really be that simple?_, he thought to himself.

He reached up to the handle and turned it. The bolt made a noise as it popped out of place, a thin sprinkling of dust showered him and the door's weight was supported with his hands. He looked to Arya and Blödhgarm and reached out to them with his mind. _Are you ready?_

_I have waited a long time for this moment, _said Arya

_With all due respect, Shadeslayer, if I was not ready I would not be here now would I?_ said Blödgharm.

Eragon nodded and pulled down on the door. Light flooded the dark tunnel; Eragon grabbed the edge of the doorway and pulled himself up silently and looked around. He was in a circular room with old barrels and some chains and other odds and ends. _This must be a storage room of some kind_. He heard the others silently crawl out of the tunnel and he heard the trapdoor being pulled closed. The bolt snapped into place with an ominous _bang!_

"Well…I guess we are not going out the way we came in," said Blödhgarm. Eragon saw that the trapdoor they had just come out of had seemed to disappear amongst the wood-paneled floor.

"We will have to worry about that later," said Arya, "but now let's go and do what we came here to do."

**I can't believe I did this again! I have been so busy it isn't even funny. I am sooooooooo sorry that it has taken me this long to get this out and it isn't even the full chapter! I'll put out part two ASAP, I double pinky promise!**

**Again please R&R, I know that this chapter is shorter than my other ones but I don't want to keep you people who have been reading my story waiting any longer.**

**Live long and prosper! **

**~xXrock4lifeXx~**


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